Roll-handling and control mechanism for cloth inspecting machines



April 29, 1952 E. F. CLARK ET AL 2,595,055

ROLL-HANDLING AND CONTROL MECHANISM FOR CLOTH INSPECTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 24, 1949 2 SHEETS-rSHEET 1 INVENTORS 154/45 3. CLARK &

AELHNDF REMINGTON April 29, 1952 E. F. CLARK ET AL 2,595,055

ROLL-HANDLING AND CONTROL MECH SM FOR CLOTH INSPECTING MACHIN Filed Jan. 24, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IIIII I I INVENTORS AME/E LHRK & BY [15L END REMINGTON a M j W g! iuss Patented Apr. 29, 1952 ROLL-HANDLING AND CONTROL Msonm. NISM FOR onorrn INSPEGTING MACHINES Elmer F. Clark and Leland 1*. Remington, Worcester, Mass, assignors to Curtis & Marble Machine Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Appl cat on-Tannery 2 1949. se i t 12. 2

I Claims. 1

This invention relates to machines in which lengths of cloth are inspected forlimperfections or other defects. It is common to wind the in.- spected cloth into a cloth roll, and to continue this operation until the cloth roll is of relatively large diameter and of substantialweight.

It is one object of our invention to provide improved roll-handlingmechanism by which the removal of a large and heavy roll of cloth is much facilitated.

A further object is to provide improved control devices by which the direction of travel of the cloth may be reversed when desired, and by which the cloth roll may be conveniently released for replacement while the roll is still horizontally supported.

Our invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cloth inspecting machine embodying our improvements;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cloth winding arbor and its supporting, driving and reversing mechanism;

Fig; 3 is a plan view, partly in section, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2;

' Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a control bracket, with a hand lever shown in section, and looking in the direction of the arrow 4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation, partly in section,

and looking in the direction of the arrow 5 in Fig. 2;

' Fig. '6 is a wiring diagram for the motor control; and

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view to be described.

Referring to the drawings, the cloth inspecting machine in which our improvements are embodied comprises a frame It] having an inspecting table ll mounted in the upper part of the frame and adapted to be secured in a selected inclined position by a clamping screw I2 extending through an arcuate slot I3 in a bracket [4 secured to the back side of the table I I.

The cloth C to be inspected is delivered to the machine in the form of a large supply roll R, which is rota'tably mounted in fixed brackets It at the back of the machine and which is held from displacement by friction-lined clamps ll drawn downward by springs I8. These clamps also act as brakes to prevent free forward rota-'- tion of the roll by inertia when the machine is stopped.

The cloth C as it leaves the roll Rpasses up; ward to a driven feed roll or drum 20 rotatably mounted in fixed brackets 21,. The cloth C then passes under a pressure roll 22 supportedfih swinging arms 23. secured to the frame Ill. The cloth v next travels around a guideroll or guiding mem ber 25 at the upper back edge of the tablev l I, and.

again upward to the arbor 30, on which it is now wound. A freely-rotating roll 34 is pressed against the cloth 0 by a spring 35 the cloth passes under the drum 32. The drum. 324 has a bevel gearconnection to a clock or measuring device K by which the yardage on the roll of inspected cloth is indicated.

The driving mechanism for the inspecting'machine comprises a motor M having a two-part variable-speed pulley 33 connected by a V-b elt 4a to a relatively larger pulley M on a shaft, 42. The two parts of the variable-speed pulley '39 are yieldingly pressed together. A sprocket E3 is loose on the shaft 42 and; is connected by a chain 44 to a sprocket 45 on a shaft 46 rotatable in fixed bearings in the frame Ill.

The sprocket 43 may be connected to the shaft 42 by a clutch 43 controlled by a yoke lever {13 which is operatively connected with a treadle lever 53. When the treadle lever 50 is pushed downward, the yoke lever 49 will be moved'to engage the clutch 48, so that the sprocket 43- will rotate with the shaft 42 andp'ulley M. A spring 51: hold the treadle lever 50 normally in raised position, with the clutch 4'8 open. The motor M is mounted on a base 58' which may be moved forward or rearward by a hand screw 51 to vary the speed by adjusting the radial driving position of the-belt 49 with respect to the two-part pulley 39. The shaft dc drives the feed roll 20 at uniform speed through a belt 51cc;

p The shaft 4'5 also carries :a'sprc'cket to connected; by-a chain 61 to a sprocket 62' which rotates the winding arbor 30. The sprocket 62- is connected to a short shaft 65- (Figs. 2 and 3-) through a slip-friction device t6 which may be of any usual construction. H

The shaft 65 is connected to turn a winding shaftlfl which is rotatable in bearings H in a.

7 type which expands when under winding te1ision, and which contracts when the tension is relieved. This facilitates removal of the cloth from the winding arbor. The expanding arbor in itself forms no part of the present invention.

The driving connection between the shaft 85 and the winding shaft 18 comprises a short stud 88 (Fig. 7) which may be projected into an axial recess 8| in the free end of the shaft 18. The stud 80 is mounted in a sleeve 82 keyed to the shaft 85 but axially slidable thereon. Clutch teeth 84 are provided on the outer end of the sleeve 82, and corresponding teeth 85 are provided on the enlarged adjacent end of the shaft 18.

The sleeve 82 has an annular groove 86 to receive pins 81 in a forked control lever 88 (Figs. 2, and 7) which is loosely pivoted 'on a stud 89 and which is provided with a handle 98. By swinging the lever 88 to the right in Figs. 3 and '7, the two sets of clutch teeth 84 and 85 may be disengaged, and by further swinging movement to the right, the stud 88 may be entirely withdrawn from the recess 8| in the shaft 18. v

The pivot stud 89 depends from a control and reversing switch S on an arm 92 (Fig. 2) which extends rearward from a fixed bearing 93 for the shaft 65. A spring 95 (Fig. is mounted on the pivot stud 89 and tends to normally raise the rear end of the lever 88. This rear end of the lever underlies a plunger |88 in the reversing switch S which controls the motor M. The plunger I88 positions a contact plate |8| (Fig. 6) in the switch S.

The handle 98 of the lever 88 extends forward through a slot in a fixed bracket I83 (Figs. 3 and 4) which may be mounted on the fixed hearing 93. The slot in the bracket I83 has a semidepressed notch I85, a fully depressed notch I88, and a raised and lateral extension I81.

When the handle 98 is in the notch I85, the switch S completes a circuit to drive the motor M in the forward direction. This circuit is from the line wire L (Fig. 6) through the wire M8 to the plate ml, and then through the contact stud wire 2 and the forward winding I33 of the motor M to the line wire L.

Placing of the handle 98 in the notch I85 also shifts the sleeve 82 (Fig. 7) to its extreme lefthand position, with the stud 88 extending into the recess 8| and with the sets of clutch teeth 84 and 85 in driving engagement.

The winding shaft 18 and winding arbor 38 are thus rotated to wind up the cloth C as it is drawn downward over the inspecting table I I.

When the handle 98 is moved to the fully de- .pressed slot |86, the handle 98 is depressed by the spring 95 and the rear end of the lever 88 is raised, thus moving the plunger I88 upward and shifting the connections to the motor M. The circuit is then from the plate |8| through the contact stud 5, wire 8 and the reverse Winding ll'l of the motor M to the line wire L'.

At the same time, the clutch teeth 84 and 85 are separated but the stud 88 is only partially withdrawn from the recess 8|, thus permitting the shaft 18 and winding arbor 38 to be rotated freely backward but preventing swinging displacement thereof. Y

If the handle 98 is shifted to the extreme righthand end of the raised lateral slot extension |8'| (Fig. 4), the rear end of the lever 88 will be moved downward, which permits corresponding downward movement of the plunger I88 and thus causes the motor M to resume forward rotation. At the same time, the stud 88 is fully withdrawn from the recess 8|, so that the shaft I8 and the winding arbor 38 may be swung forward as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2. The shaft and arbor will still be firmly supported horizontaiiy by the stud 13 (Fig. 2) and bracket 14, and no downward swing of the arbor can take place.

The driving connections are so proportioned that the peripheral speed of the winding arbor 38 is slightly greater than the peripheral speed of the driven feed roll or drum 28. As soon as winding begins, the excess surface speed of the winding arbor and roll of cloth thereon is taken care of by slippage in the friction device 66, which slippage increases as the size of the roll of cloth on the winding arbor 38 increases.

The machine is designed for very convenient operation which is briefly as follows: The handle 98 is first placed in the semi-depressed slot |05 so that the motor M will be in forward rotation, with the stud 88 in the recess 8| and with the clutch teeth 84 and 85 engaged.

The motor rotates the shaft 42 (Fig. 1) idly until the treadle lever 58 is depressed. The feed drum 28 is then rotated to draw cloth upward from the supply roll R, and the winding arbor 38 is rotated to wind the cloth into a new roll after inspection and as it is drawn downward from the table II. During this inspecting and cloth winding operation, the travel of the cloth may be stopped at any time by removing the foot pressure on the treadle lever 58.

If it IS desired to reverse the travel of the cloth for further inspection or for any other purpose, the handle 98 is shifted to the fully depressed slot I88, which action reverses the direction of rotation of the motor M, and disengages the clutch teeth 84 and 85. The cloth can then be drawn backward by the roll 28, as the winding arbor 38 is now free to be rotated backward.

When the roll of cloth on the winding arbor 38 has reached limiting diameter, the handle 98 is shifted to the extreme right-hand end of the raised slot extension I81, thus fully withdrawing the stud 88. The winding arbor 3.), with the roll of inspected cloth thereon, may then be swung forward on the stud l3, and the roll of cloth will remain horizontally supported until the cloth is manually removed axially from the winding arbor.

The winding arbor is then returned to the full line position of Fig. 2, after which the handle 98 may be returned to the slot I85 for a further winding operation.

The direction of rotation of themotor M is thus controlled by the single handle 98, which also engages and disengages the teeth 84 and 85 which drive the arbor 38, and which advances and withdraws the stud 88 which supports the free end of the shaft 18 and of the winding arbor 38.

Our improved cloth inspecting machine is thus particularly adapted for convenient operation and has been found very satisfactory in actual use.

Having thus described our invention and the advantages thereof, we do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what we claim is:

1. In a cloth inspecting machine, a winding arbor, means to support one end of said arbor for swinging movement in a substantially horizontal plane only, a motor to drive said machine and arbor, and a single manual means effective by a continuous movement to axially disengage said motor from said arbor and to simultaneously reversesaid motor and machine, and said arbor being thereafter free to rotate backward in its initial axial position so long as said motor is running in reverse.

2. In a cloth inspecting machine, a winding arbor, spaced bearing means to support one end of saidarbor for swinging movement in a substantially horizontal plane only, a motor to drive said machine and arbor, and manual means effective to axially separate said supporting and driving mechanism from said winding arbor, thereby leaving said arbor free to swing forward for cloth removal.

3. In a cloth inspecting machine, a winding arbor, a member having axially spaced bearings for one end portion of said arbor, an upright post for said bearing member which is mounted for free angular movement about a substantially vertical axis, combined driving and supporting means for the other end of said arbor, and manual means to withdraw said combined driving and supporting means axially from engagement with said arbor, thereby leaving said arbor free to swing about the axis 01 said post while the arbor is firmly supported by said spaced bearings.

4. In a cloth inspecting machine, a winding arbor, a horizontal bearing for one end of said arbor, means to support said bearing for swinging movement about a vertical axis only, disengageable supporting means for the other end of said arbor, means to drive said machine and said winding arbor, and a single manual means effective to release the winding arbor for continuous free rotation in supported position and about its original axis of rotation and to simultaneously reverse the driving means.

5. In a cloth inspecting machine, a winding arbor, a member having axially spaced bearings for one end portion of said arbor, an upright post for said bearing member which is mounted for free angular movement about a substantially vertical axis, driving means and supporting means for the other end ofsaid arbor, and manual means effective by a partial axial withdrawing movement to disengage said driving means from said winding arbor and by a further axial withdrawing movement to disengage said supporting means from the associated end of said winding arbor, thereby leaving said arbor free to swing about the axis of said post while the arbor is firmly supported by said spaced bearings.

ELMER F. CLARK. LELAND F...'REMINGTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are- ;of record in the file of this patent:

UNIi ED STATES Number Name Date 1,959,261 Butterworth May 15, 1934 2,018,852 Hart Oct. 29, 1935 2,304,913 Herzig Dec. 15, 1942 2,306,466 Patterson Dec. 29, 1942 2,376,773 Hogan May 22, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 796,091 France Jan. 17, 1936 

